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A few sample lessons for you to try out!

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Ongoing Greek and Latin Word Part Activities

Ongoing Greek and Latin Word Part Activities

Rather than just memorizing word parts, students will use those word parts to create four possible products.

Showing A Character’s Trait

Showing A Character’s Trait

We tell students to "show, not tell" in their writing, but this advice isn't effective until they experience the difference. In this video, we'll put a famous character (of students' choosing) into a mundane situation and develop a fun scene to show off their main traits.

The Resiliency Tournament

The Resiliency Tournament

Your students will set up a tournament to determine which person or character best demonstrated resiliency.

Holiday vs Holiday (from a Mascot’s Perspective)

Holiday vs Holiday (from a Mascot’s Perspective)

Want something to do during the holiday season that is both fun and involves thinking? Get students writing about what a snowman would think about Halloween or what a ghost would think about Thanksgiving.

Math Curiosity: The Coloring Problem

Math Curiosity: The Coloring Problem

No video gets me more email from students! How few colors can you use to color in any map so that no two, neighboring regions are the same color?

Building Creative Analogies

Building Creative Analogies

We'll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.

Parentheses: How big of a change can they make!?

Parentheses: How big of a change can they make!?

Once students understand the order of operations, they often just get stuck doing increasingly difficult practice problems. That's a sure-fire way to squelch learning, though. Here, students determine where to place parentheses to make the greatest change in an expression.

Place Value (Beyond Base 10)

Place Value (Beyond Base 10)

Place value is something we cover in elementary school. It seems simple, but I'd wager that very few adults really understand the topic. I sure didn't until I worked with non-base-10 number systems in college. Your students can get a taste of this mind-boggling experience by imagining what it would be like if we didn't have the number 9. What would each digit represent then?

Factors and Codes (Episode 1)

Factors and Codes (Episode 1)

Let's use factors to encode and decode words.

Writing A Story About Fraction Equivalence

Writing A Story About Fraction Equivalence

When fractions take on a new denominator, it's as if they're wearing a disguise - same value, new look. So let's write a story about fraction equivalence starring a fraction who needs to fit in with a new group.

Fraction Puzzlers: Add and Subtract Fractions To Reach A Number

Fraction Puzzlers: Add and Subtract Fractions To Reach A Number

You only have six digits to form three fractions. Can you combine them to get to 0?

A Calendar Math Project

A Calendar Math Project

Why are there 12 months? Why don't weeks fit into months evenly? Why don't weeks fit into the year evenly? What's going on with the calendar!

Reduce Anxiety: Square Breathing (Tool 1)

Reduce Anxiety: Square Breathing (Tool 1)

Reduce anxiety by breathing in a square pattern.

Random Emoji Prompt Generator

Random Emoji Prompt Generator

Click up an interesting, visual writing prompt suitable for any grade or purpose.

Motivation and Moral Development

Motivation and Moral Development

Can someone do the right thing, but for the wrong reason?

Intellectual Intensity

Intellectual Intensity

Do you know someone who becomes a bit overexcited by ideas?

Fancier Figurative Language: Start with a Cliche

Fancier Figurative Language: Start with a Cliche

We'll start with the clichรฉ "as cold as ice" and go somewhere much more interesting.

Famous Structures

Famous Structures

Students explore famous structures from around the world, put them into related categories, pick some winners, and then design their own.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 2

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 2

We'll show students how to add more variety to their writing by starting sentences with a reason, a prepositional phrase, and a simile.

Reduce Anxiety: 5 Question Rule

Reduce Anxiety: 5 Question Rule

For Teachers

Adults can limit anxiety by implementing the Five Question Rule.

Reduce Anxiety: Brain Plate (Tool 3)

Reduce Anxiety: Brain Plate (Tool 3)

Take away some anxiety with the tool Brain Plate.

Reduce Anxiety: Change The Channel (Tool 2)

Reduce Anxiety: Change The Channel (Tool 2)

Reduce anxiety by learning to "change the channel."

Reduce Anxiety: Worry Time

Reduce Anxiety: Worry Time

For Teachers

Adults can learn to help students reduce anxiety with the tool Worry Time.

Stories with the Same Problems and Solutions

Stories with the Same Problems and Solutions

Have you ever noticed that some stories have awfully similar problems? What if we looked for the most unusual way of solving a repeating problem?

Discussing An Important Decision from History

Discussing An Important Decision from History

How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?

Inferring With Art: A Couple

Inferring With Art: A Couple

What's going on in this room? There are shoes everywhere! Are thoseโ€ฆ oranges? Let's make some inferences!

Halloween Emoji Story ๐ŸŽƒ

Halloween Emoji Story ๐ŸŽƒ

Students will create a story about ๐ŸŽƒ๐Ÿ•ฏ๏ธ๐Ÿ“–๐Ÿ’ฅ๐Ÿ‘ป.

Notice, Wonder: A River

Notice, Wonder: A River

A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!

Holiday Emoji Story ๐Ÿšš

Holiday Emoji Story ๐Ÿšš

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿšš๐ŸŽ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿถ๐Ÿซฃ

Halloween Emoji Story ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ

Halloween Emoji Story ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ๐Ÿ•ธ๏ธ๐Ÿ“ฉ๐Ÿ”‘๐Ÿšช.

Notice, Wonder: Akron

Notice, Wonder: Akron

A mysterious image. Slowly reveal it. Let your students wonder!

Running A Group Investigation Lesson

Running A Group Investigation Lesson

For Teachers

Learn to lead a lesson that is built entirely on student curiosity.

Holiday Emoji Story โ›ท๏ธ

Holiday Emoji Story โ›ท๏ธ

Students will create a story about โ›ท๏ธ๐ŸŒจ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿป๐Ÿค

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿฐ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿฐ

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ”๐Ÿ”๐Ÿšช.

Holiday Emoji Story ๐ŸŽ…

Holiday Emoji Story ๐ŸŽ…

Students will create a story about ๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿ›ท๐ŸŒ€๐Ÿš€๐ŸŒ

Creativity Beyond The Fluff

Creativity Beyond The Fluff

For Teachers

Just because a task is "creative" doesn't mean students are at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy.

Holiday Emoji Story ๐Ÿช

Holiday Emoji Story ๐Ÿช

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿช๐Ÿฅ›๐Ÿ”๐Ÿพ๐ŸฆŒ

Halloween Emoji Story ๐ŸŒ•

Halloween Emoji Story ๐ŸŒ•

Students will create a story about ๐ŸŒ•๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿ‘ฃ๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿ’จ.

Holiday Emoji Story โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Holiday Emoji Story โ˜ƒ๏ธ

Students will create a story about โ˜ƒ๏ธ๐Ÿ‘‘๐Ÿ”๏ธ๐Ÿ”ญโœจ

Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A passage from "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿค–

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿค–

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ’ƒ๐ŸŽต๐Ÿ•บ๐Ÿ”.

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿš—

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿš—

Students will write a story about ๐Ÿš—๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ๐ŸŒ‹๐Ÿ‰๐ŸŒ‰

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿป

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿป

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿป๐ŸŽฉ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿคฃ.

Emoji Stories ๐ŸŸ๏ธ

Emoji Stories ๐ŸŸ๏ธ

Students will create a story about ๐ŸŸ๏ธ๐Ÿน๐Ÿž๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ”ฅ

12 Phrases: Somewhere In Space

12 Phrases: Somewhere In Space

Given twelve random phrases, students will pick four and then write about the strange situation.

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ๐ŸŽฉ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿ’Ž๐Ÿ•บ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿšš

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿšš

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿšš๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ“ป๐Ÿ›ธ๐ŸŒŒ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฎ๐ŸŒฉ๏ธ๐Ÿšท๐ŸŒฒ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ

Students will write a story about ๐Ÿ›ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŠ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿค .

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿฆ

Emoji Stories ๐Ÿฆ

Students will create a story about ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ‘‘๐Ÿ—๐ŸŽถ๐ŸŒ„

Emoji Stories ๐ŸŒ

Emoji Stories ๐ŸŒ

Students will create a story about ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ“ฌโœˆ๏ธ๐Ÿ›๏ธ ๐Ÿ“œ